I Prevail fires up their home state fans on the True Power Tour with support from Pierce the Veil, Fit For A King, and Stand Atlantic.
Getting the evening off to a great start is Australian pop-punk band Stand Atlantic, led by vocalist and rhythm guitarist Bonnie Fraser. Their songs may be short, but they are upbeat, catchy, and fun and get the early fans moving. Their set is made up of songs from their 2020 album Pink Elephant and their 2022 release F.E.A.R., starting with “Hate Me” and “Jurassic Park. “hair out” has Bonnie bouncing around the stage, while guitarist David Potter and bassist Miki Rich spin and headbang, and drummer Jonna Panichi crushes the skins. At one point in the set, Eric from I Prevail comes out and he and Bonnie do a shoey together, which is drinking from a shoe. The crowd loves it. “pity party” is a recent collaboration with Royal & The Serpent which has the fans singing along. Their set also includes the songs “Wavelength,” “switchblade,” and “deathwish.” They close out their set with “molotov,” a fast-paced song that has Bonnie angrily delivering the vocals. Given the resurgence of this genre and the fans’ reactions, it looks like they have a bright future ahead of them.
Next up is Texas-based metalcore band Fit For A King. It is quite a change from the opening band as they lead off with “Eyes Roll Back,” a heavy-hitting song with harsh vocals and screaming from Ryan Kirby. Guitarist Daniel Gailey delivers some killer riffs that chug along, while Trey Celaya thrashes on the drums. Ryan shows off his clean vocals during “When Everything Means Nothing” but is still an aggressive metal song. “End (The Other Side)” features some squealing, pinch-harmonics on the guitar, and a heavy bottom end.“The Price of Agony” is a fast-paced, guitar-driven song with Ryan mixing it up between harsh and clean vocals. Before the song, Ryan tells the crowd, “1, 2, 3, jump” and the crowd responds by jumping up and down. The fans also open a circle pit, with several others crowd-surfing to the front. Bassist Ryan O’Leary is a sight to see as he launches split jumps into the air and spins about while playing, and he also swings his bass around his neck. They wrap it up with “God of Fire” from the 2020 album The Path, another heavy song with some killer leads and thunderous drums and bass. They leave the crowd wanting more as they let out cheers and pump their fists in the air.
It has been five years since Pierce the Veil last played the Detroit area, and the fans are anxious for them to hit the stage. The lights dim and the fans let out huge cheers as the band takes the stage and jumps right into “Hell Above” with its killer guitars from Tony Perry and Vic Fuentes, and drum attack of Loniel Robinson. The fans love it and waste no time getting the mosh pit going, while others headbang and wave their hands in the air.Their set is heavy on songs from the 2012 album Collide With the Sky. It has been six years since they last released an album, but the good news for fans is they have a new album called The Jaws of Life that is coming in 2023. The first single, “Pass the Nirvana,” has already hit the airwaves and is creating a buzz. When they play it tonight, the reaction is astounding as the fans sing along. It is a slower-paced song with a more grungy, distorted-sounding guitar but is still heavy and has a catchy beat. Bassist Jaime Preciado is very active as he bounds around the stage and jumps off the riser.
“Bulls in the Bronx” keeps it going with a blazing drumbeat and hook-laden guitar riffs and gets a sea of crowd-surfers going. After “Caraphernalia,” they slow it down with the more alternative-sounding “Circles” which has the fans clapping after lead singer and rhythm guitarist Vic Fuentes tells them “hands up!” Vic throws in jumps and also keeps the fans engaged. They start to wind it down with the slower song, “Hold On Till May,” which has the fans singing along. Cranking it back up, they whip the crowd into a frenzy with the thrashy “A Match Into Water.” Eric from I Prevail even joins them for part of a song to the fans’ delight. They close it out with “King for a Day” which has the fans once again moshing, singing along, waving their arms, and showing their appreciation with loud cheers. Vic exclaims, “Detroit, thank you so much,” and Jaime slaps hands with fans up front before they leave the stage.
The instrumental song “0:00” plays as the lights dim. I Prevail is welcomed by deafening cheers as they take the stage and lead with “There’s Fear in Letting Go” from the 2022 album True Power. Like many of the songs, it features a mix of clean vocals from Brian Burkheiser and harsh vocals from Eric Vanlerberghe. Backed by guitarists Steve Menoian and Dylan Bowman, and drummer Gabe Helguera, they deliver a mix of pummeling metalcore as well as some hard rock, and even a few slower songs. Being from the metro-Detroit area, they have a huge local following here tonight and these fans love them and show it with loud cheers and pumping their fists and horns into the air. A large mosh pit has many fired up on the floor and the sea of crowd surfers continues throughout their set.They have three full-length albums but it seems like it could be way more given their popularity and the number of songs that get played on hard rock radio like SiriusXM Octane. They continue to put out hit after hit and their album True Power makes up about half of their setlist tonight. Keeping the crowd amped up, they play one of their heaviest songs to date, “Body Bag,” which has the chaos and vibe of Slipknot. Following “Self-Destruction” and “Bad Things,” they play two of their popular songs, “Scars” and “Hurricane” which have the fans singing along. If that was not enough to keep the fans engaged, they tear into the guitar intro of “Raining Blood” by Slayer which has the fans going wild. “Judgement Day” is yet another ripper which has the band members moving all over the stage.
Brian takes a moment to tell the fans about the dark place he was in a few years back when he had vocal issues and had to drop off their tour. He tells the crowd that no matter how hard it gets, you need to fight through it. It is a touching moment. They then launch into “Breaking Down” and follow it with “Paranoid” which has the crowd clapping along and features a rapid-fire drum solo by Gabe.
Following “Choke” and “Fake,” they play the slower “FWYTYK” with its alternating rap delivery by Brian and Eric and they tell the crowd to “put your middle fingers in the air.” Wrapping up the main portion of their set, they go back to their first album Lifelines and play “Come and Get It” with its grooving beat which has the crowd bouncing up and down, and a crazy mosh pit opens up toward the end. Returning to the stage, they wrap up their set with “Gasoline” and “Bow Down,” with both songs whipping the fans into a frenzy as they bounce, headbang, crowd surf, and mosh. Before leaving the stage, Eric screams, “Detroit, thank you so f*cking much!” It is an awesome evening of punk, alternative, hard rock, and metal by all the bands.
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